In recent years medical experts and health organizations have recommended that consumers reduce their fat intake as well as their cholesterol intake. The Surgeon General, for example, has recommended the maintenance of desirable weight through caloric control. Butter and margarine are both significant sources of fat and calories and butter is a significant source of cholesterol.
Butter contains a high level of animal fat (about 80 to 82%) which many consumers find unacceptable. Margarine is usually produced from an emulsion of oils and fats derived from vegetables. Since margarines are derived from vegetable fats they are cholesterol free, however, margarine contains the same amount of fat as butter.
Attempts have been made to reduce the fat content in butter-like and margarine-like spreads. For example, the proportion of the fat in butter can be replaced by vegetable fats, which are considered to be nutritionally more acceptable than animal fats. Substitution of some or all of the animal fat with vegetable fat to produce a lower cholesterol butter has the added benefit of softening the end product and making it more spreadable. (EPO 0,185,000A2).
However, low calorie, reduced fat margarine-like and butter-like spreads have not met with consumer expectations in that they are not stable and in that the fat and caloric reductions are not sufficient. These low fat spreads are generally fat-continuous emulsions (U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,725 to Norton) or water-in-oil emulsions (EPO 0,385,542A to Alares, et al; EPO 0,185,000A to Walgren, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,475; Alaers, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,559) having a fat content of about 20 to 80%.
There are also low fat spreads that are oil-in-water emulsions containing vegetable or whey proteins (35 to 80% fat) (U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,523 to Blauel, et al.) and whipped low fat spreads such as the gas-in-water foam emulsion disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,764 to Gabby, et al.
Various attempts have been made to produce water-continuous low fat spreads having a fat content of less than about 20%. For example, low fat milk or vegetable protein-containing water-continuous emulsions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,245 to Gupta, et al. A low fat spread containing a structuring amount of oligofructose in combination with added mono- or disaccharide in an amount of about 0.1 to about 15 wt % is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,702.
It is highly important in the field of low fat spreads to generate products having good spreading properties, i.e., spreadable at storage temperature (4.degree. C.), as well as sufficiently reduced fat content. From the perspective of the food industry, it is desirable that a low fat spread be easily extruded so that it may be shaped into various forms on demand, allowing for portion control with ease of dispensing and no waste.
It is also desirable that a low fat spread have a slow melting rate so that the spread can be applied to hot foods during preparation and retain its shape until presented to a diner.
It is an object of the invention to provide low fat spread products having good flavor, texture and appearance, as well as good spreadability over a wide range of temperatures and a slow melt rate.